Kuwait votes for parliament amid boycott calls

Kuwaitis have been casting their votes for the second time this year, in elections for a new parliament amid growing unrest.

On the eve of the election, tens of thousands of protesters in Kuwait City called for a boycott over changes made to the voting rules last month.

Opposition MPs say the amendment manipulates the ballot in favour of pro-government candidates.

Kuwait has had months of confrontations between the opposition and government.

Polling stations in the affluent Rumaithiya district of the capital appeared busy on Saturday morning, despite the calls for a boycott, the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil reports from Kuwait City.

However, the AFP news agency reported a far thinner turnout at a polling station in Salwa, 15km (10 miles) south of Kuwait City.

Defiant mood

The main opposition grievance is a 19 October decree ordered by the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah, whose family dominates Kuwait's government.

The crisis was sparked in June, when the Constitutional Court annulled parliamentary elections held in February, in which the Islamist-led opposition made significant gains. The court also reinstated the previous assembly, allied to the ruling family.

After months of protests, Kuwait's emir ordered the dissolution of that parliament and announced new elections.

Analysis

By Shaimaa KhalilBBC News, Kuwait City

Saturday mornings in the affluent Kuwaiti neighbourhoods of Romaithia and Jabria are normally very quiet. But today those two areas were busy with the commotion of voters, campaign representatives and security forces.

These neighbourhoods are known for their support for the government and the emir - a big turnout was expected here. Voters of all ages came to cast their ballots. I asked Um Mohamed, an elderly woman why she felt she had to vote today. "Our Emir called upon us , We must come," she said assertively.

As the polling stations closed at the end of the day, you could see people hurrying in to cast their vote at the last minute. Um Shamlan, a mother of two, wore a dress made out of the Kuwaiti flag, and had a pin with the Emir's picture on it. "This is my voice ... it's for my country," she told me.

This is a very different picture from that of the boycotting rally organised by the opposition the day before. And despite the deep divide in Kuwaiti politics at the moment, both sides agree that their country has been in a stalemate for a long time and both feel an urgent need for Kuwait to move on.